Saffiedine stayed sharp and gave Smith little chance to compete, getting the nod with scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27.

Saffiedine and Smith stared out with Smith backing his opponent up early. Saffiedine, however, did well with landing some low kicks to soften Smith’s lead leg. Later, he did well and stayed busy in the clinch against the cage, landing a head kick a short while later. Saffiedine worked some good high and low combos in the final minute, closing out the round with the edge on points.

Round two began with Saffiedine continuing the punch and kick combinations, landing another head kick within the opening minute. Later, he landed a right hand that wobbled Smith, but wasn’t able to finish with the following flurry which included a flying knee. Saffiedine continued to pressure and put the fight on the ground where he controlled his opponent’s back. Smith was able slip out of that position and return to the feet, but the round closed out with Tarec Saffiedine getting the obvious edge, landing shot after shot on Scott Smith.

The final round had Saffiedine continuing the punishment and Smith looked like he couldn’t engage much. From jabs, inside and outside low kicks, Smith ate a arsenal of Saffiedine’s strikes with little to answer with and was bloodied in the face. The fight went the distance and Saffiedine took the unanimous decision.

Saffiedine did well to put himself back in the mix for the Strikeforce welterweight title with the win, getting back on the winning track after his loss to Tyron Woodley. Scott Smith’s gets his third consecutive defeat and has dropped four of his last five fights.

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